I, Too by Langston Hughes

"I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well, 
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Beside,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed --

I, too, am America."

Rationale for piece: I would love to use this poem while discussing Harlem Renaissance. This poem could be placed alongside a contemporary poem or short story. I would like to use another African American author from the Harlem Renaissance, and teach the importance of reading different mediums of literature. Hughes really dignifies Africa and African Americans as poets, one of the first to do this. I think that it is important to look at what he did for the future African American writers, because he was very inspirational for aspiring African American writers. I would like to have students learn about Hughes life, which is why I included a video on his history. This poem in particular, is powerful, and would provide a good discussion with students about Americans and what it means to be an American. I think it would be good for students to realize that America is a land of many people, and that their are voices for all Americans. This poem exposes what it is like to be an African American, Hughes word choice especially can resonate with students from every culture. The poem is easy to read, while still having a level of depth for students to analyze.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Book Cover for Things Fall Apart: 

Chinua Achebe:

Setting of Things Fall Apart:

Storyboard for an early chapter:

Rationale for piece: This work is extremely important for students to read. It completely changes buried stereotypical views of African tribes, as well as addressing gender in their community. I would love to teach this in a twelfth grade class someday, and spend a whole unit on it with activities, discussion, and a final paper. This would also be interesting to read after teaching Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, since this novel is a response to how Conrad classifies the Congo people. Students would be able to connect more with the Congo tribes after reading this novel. I would like to do several activities comparing the Congo village as portrayed in the book to students lives. This book helped me gain a sense of what African tribes were really like, and I think that it is important for students to understand. It would let students compare and contrast the two novels, and relate Things Fall Apart to their own life. This would be beneficial since African tribes seem so foreign to us in the United States, and reading this will let students make connections to their lives. This will make the African tribes seem more real and relatable to students. It can also segue into an upcoming unit on gender. 

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Cover of Cry, the Beloved Country:

Alan Paton: 

Movie trailer:

Rationale for piece: Even though Alan Paton is a white male, he was born in South Africa, and is a prominent author for South African literature. Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautiful piece of multicultural literature. This work incorporates family and culture and would be excellent at introducing multicultural literature. This story is long and full of many fundamental multicultural literature examples. Although this piece is difficult to understand, I believe that it would benefit the students to jump right into analyzing the effect of multicultural literature. of  It shows the tension between family, and two cultures. I think that this would be most effective in a four week long unit, with lots of planned activities to help students fully understand the multitude of the work, and to allow enough time for discussion and analysis in class.  For this piece, I included the movie trailer to help students visualize the work. Watching movie trailers of books before reading them can get students excited to read the work, especially for student who are more visual learners. If there was time available we would also take the time to watch several clips of this movie because it really helps students understand the plot line while they are getting used to writing style of Paton. 

Woman Work by Maya Angelou

"I've got children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I've got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The can to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brown again.

Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
'Til I can rest again. 

Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You're all that I can call my own."

Maya Angelou on courage: 

Rationale for piece: I would like to pair this piece with Kincaid's "Girl" for the classroom. I think that it would be interesting to take both of these poems about female gender stereotypes and compare and contrast them. Angelou has many poems that would be fitting for a literature classroom learning about multicultural literature, but I was focused on finding content that I could connect with one of the other works. This work contributes to "Girl" in many different ways. The voice, content, and tone are all different. This would help students really work on their analytical skills to be able to notice and document those differences, and what they did for the works. It would also be beneficial to talk about rhyme scheme and what each of these poems do that use the rhyme scheme to their advantage. Doing these two different poems on the same day would be ideal. I added the video in about courage, because I think that it really shows Maya Angelou's style and manner of speaking. That makes it easier for students to relate to her, and they can picture who wrote the poem they are reading. This video is a great way to introduce Maya Angelou and show what an inspiring author she is. 

Blessed Are The Poor in Spirit by Alice Walker

"Did you ever understand this?

If my spirit was poor, how could I enter heaven? 

Was I depressed?

Understanding editing,

I see how a comma, removed or inserted

with a careful plan,

can change everything.

I was reminded of this when a poor young man

in Tunisia

desperate to live

and humiliated for trying

set himself ablaze;

I felt uncomfortable warm

as if scalded by his shame.

I do not have to sell vegetables from a cart as he did

or live in narrow rooms too small for spacious thought;

and, at this late date,

I do not worry that someone will

remove every single opportunity 

for me to thrive. 

Still, I am connected to, inseparable from,

this young man. 

Blessed are the poor, in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus. (Commas restored).

Jesus was as usual talking about solidarity: about how we join with others

and, in spirit, feel the world, and suffering, the same as them.

This is the kingdom of owning the other as self, the self as other;

that transforms grief into

peace and delight.

I, and you, might enter the heaven 

of right here

through this door.

In this spirit, knowing we are blessed,

we might remain poor."

http://www.biography.com/people/alice-walker-9521939

Rationale for piece: Alice Walker is a great addition to any collection of multicultural literature. I chose this because Walker uses this poem to employ the idea of walking in another's shoes and being able to understand why people do the things they do. This would be great for students to start relating to others through multicultural literature. I would like to have students use this poem with current events. That way, they can use the literature to relate to real life events that they are used to hearing. They can research real world events and it will help them make connections. I think that this would help them realize that literature can be used outside of just reading and analyzing in class. It can also be used by students to empathize with those they don't know. I would like to pair this poem with Charlie-O, and do an activity after the Charlie-O activity about understanding others. I added the biography link specifically to watch the video. It is short and sweet, but really powerful. Alice Walker has an inspiring past, and I want students to really be able to visual their poets, instead of seeing them as inaccessible. This way, students can picture and understand why Walker made the choices she did in her work.

A Pair of Tickets by Amy Tan

Link to story: 

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/4ffc7e71e4b036a61fbe24a3/t/52cc19ace4b0a14ddad6dbb7/1389107628306/A+Pair+of+Tickets.pdf

 San Francisco to Guangzhou

Jing Mei's Journey to her half sisters from Guangzhou to Shanghai (about 700 miles)

Rationale for piece: This piece is useful for students to understand their heritage. After we analyzed the story and discussed different themes that are present. I think it would be interesting to do an "heritage" activity where students would research their family trees and find out where they came from. This would take a relatively long time in class, so this would need to be done in an extensive unit. It would take a long time to analyze and then do the heritage activity. I think, however, that students would actually have fun figuring out their background. After everyone has done some research, I would like students to then research the countries the came from. The unit would end with a presentation from each student. I think that this would be fun for students, but also helps them learn more about each other and the varying backgrounds. They could compare it to Tan, and talk about how if they have ever been there and felt themselves "becoming" their certain heritage. I think this would be a new approach to studying literature and help the students see how the stories we read relate to everything they do outside of the classroom. 

Charlie-O by Cynthia Kadohata

Link to story:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/75415995/Charlie-O#scribd

Distance from Oregon to Arkansas: 2,056 miles

Rationale for piece: This piece would do best with eleventh and twelfth grade students, because of the sexual content that takes place. It is important for the students to understand the reality of these situations, but it should be waited until they are older to discuss in a classroom setting maturely. You would have to know the class before teaching this, and decide if they could take it seriously. I think that students would enjoy doing in-depth character analysis of Charlie-O and the narrator. Both characters carry a lot of weight, with foils for each other, as well as similarities. Students could do their culminating assignment on a character analysis. This would be the main focus of reading this work in class. However, I also think that moving is an important topic for students in high school. Most of them have moved, and some may even be new students. I think that this would help students open up on their thoughts about the stories. I think that the visual of distance between the two places is important for students, you can tell them how many miles, but until they can visually see how far, it doesn't click with them.

"Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean?" by Gloria Naylor

Link to story:

http://apewiki.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/62984024/Naylor_Mommy_What_Does_Nigger_Mean_000-1.pdf

Rationale for piece: I think that this piece is really important for students to read, especially in a society where this word is still used, despite that when it's offensive. It is probably in music they listen to, or at least heard a lot. Students can also recognize other offensive words that they should be avoiding. This could be a lot of things for different students, and it would provide discussion for them. It's important for students to realize that they need to be sensitive towards those around them. As a high school student, I think that this work could help students understand the weight of the words they use, and how they affect others. As a teacher, you could do several activities about the words we use. It's important for students to realize these things while they are still young. Students need to be educated about why something is offensive, otherwise they will not see the significance behind it.  Reading Naylor's story would be helpful for students because they can see someone who has been affected by racist remarks. Also, they can see how children can be hurt by words even when they are so young. Here I included a link to the story, and a picture of the author. 

Freeway by Lorna Dee Cervantes

"Las casitas near the gray cannery,
nestled amid wild abrazos of climbing roses
and man-high red geraniums
are gone now. The feeway conceals it
all beneath a raised scar.

But under the fake windsounds of the open lanes,
in the abandoned lots below, new grasses sprout,
wild mustard remembers, old gardens
come back stronger than they were,
trees have been left standing in their yards.
Albaricoqueros, cerezos, nogales...
Viejitas comes here with paper bags to gather greens.
Espinaca, verdolagas, yerbabuena...

I scramble over the wire fence
that would have kept me out.
Once, I wanted out, wanted the rigid lanes
to take me to a place without sun,
without the smell of tomatoes burning
on swing shift in the greasy summer air.

Maybe it's here
en los campos extranos de esta ciudad
where I'll find it, that part of me
mown under
like a corpse or a loose seed."

Translations:

Las casitas - the small houses
Abrazos - hugs
Albaricoqueros - apricot trees
Cerezos - cherry trees
Nogales - walnut trees
Viejitas - old women
Espinaca - spinach
Verdolagas - purslane
Yerbabuena -ment
"en los campos extranos de esta ciudad" - in the strange fields of this city. 

Actual Highway 280 runs through the Bay Area in California (San Francisco to San Jose)

Rationale for piece: I chose this piece because I felt that it would be a good opportunity to discuss different heritages. The immersion of a different language gives the student an opportunity to see a tension between two worlds. I would like to do an activity about the different worlds all students live in. Every student can find two separate worlds they belong to, and talk about how they feel when those two worlds start to collide. For me, I feel tension when my ballet world and normal world collide. I am used to seeing the same dancers every week, but if I ever see them up on campus I feel like someone has invaded my world. I think that students would be able to easily make connections like this. The enhancements I feel necessary for this piece are the translations for the poem. Not all students speak Spanish and so it has to be able to be easily readable for the students. It also would be fun to be able to have any Spanish speakers in the class read it/give the translations. I also think it is important to have a visual of who is writing the poem, it allows the students to better connect with the poem and the author.  I also added the pictures of the actual Freeway talked about in the poem, so that students can actually see the place students were talking about. 

Girl by Jamacia Kincaid

"Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap;wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; don't walk barehead in the hot sun; cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil; soak your little cloths right after you take them off; when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, be sure that it doesn't have gum on it, because that way it won't hold up well after a wash; soak salt fish overnight before you cook it; is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?; always eat your food in such a way that it won't turn someone else's stomach;on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don't sing benna in Sunday school; you mustn't speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions; don't eat fruits on the street - flies will follow you; but I don't sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school; this is how to sew on a button; this is how to make a buttonhole for the button you have just sewed on; this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and to prevent yourself from looking like the slut you are so bent on becoming; this is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it doesn't have a crease; this is how you iron your father's khaki pants so that they don't have a crease; this is how you grow okra - far from the house, because okra tree harbors red ants; when you are growing dasheen, make sure it gets plenty of water or else it makes your throat itch when you are eating it; this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house; this is how you sweep a yard; this is how you smile to someone you don't like too much; this is how you smile at someone you don't like at all; this is how you smile to someone you like completely;  this is how you set a table for tea; this is how you set a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest; this is how you set a table for lunch; this is how you set a table for breakfast; this is how to behave in the presence of men who don't know you very well, and this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming; be sure to wash every day, even if it is with your own spit; don't swat down to play marbles - you are not a boy, you know; don't pick people's flowers - you might catch something; don't throw stones at blackbirds, because it might not be a blackbird at all; this is how to make a bread pudding; this is how to make doukona; this is how to make pepper pot; this is how to make a good medicine for a cold;  this is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child; this is how to catch a fish; this is how to throw back a fish you don't like and that way something bad won't fall on you; this is how to bully a man; this is how a man bullies you; this is how to love a man, and if this doesn't work there are other ways, and if they don't work don't feel too bad about giving up; this is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it, and this is how to move quick so that it doesn't fall on you; this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure it's fresh; but what if the baker won't let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?"

"Benna is an uptempo Antiguan folk song, also spelled bennah and known as ditti. It is characterized by lyrics that focus on scandalous gossip, performed in a call and response style. It has also been a means of folk communication, spreading news and political commentary across the island." - Definition of Benna from Wikipedia

Rationale for piece: I believe that this work is a great way for students to discuss gender, and not just the female gender. This automatically makes students think about their own lives, and the advice they have received. This is universal between males and females. It would be helpful however to discuss male stereotypes after reading this poem, to define them for the whole class. This could be used to then make venn diagrams, concept maps and other comparison tools to bring up the stereotypes for both females and males. I would love to let students get personal with this piece as well, so that they can express how they feel about the stereotypes that they are brought up just for being born biologically one way. Students feel very passionate about personal matters, and this poem would provide for a lot of discussion, and it would probably end up being a lot of fun. The enhancements I would use for this piece are chosen because I feel that it is important for students to hear the author read their own work. It brings a new comprehension that can't be brought by individually reading it. Students also need to have words they don't know defined for them, especially with Benna, because it corresponds with the culture of Kincaid.